Apparatus for refining oil



may 20, 1924. 1,494,375

' w. J. REILLY APPARATUS FOR REFINING OIL Filed Aug. 1, 1921 kill/101,

f y 5 Wm 11 I Patented May 20, 1924.

UNITED STATES wrntnm .1. marry, or nnnvnn, coLonano.

APPARATUS ironnnrmme OIL.

l To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM J REILLY, a citizen of the'United States, residing at the city and county of Denver and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Refining Oil; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon,

which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to the art of re fining pptroleum and other oils, and its principal o ject is to provide an apparatus by which petroleum and other oils of high specific gravity may be converted into oils of lower specific gravity. At present, and most likely to continue into the future, there is a preponderance ofthe heavy gravity oils and such oils areof much less commercial value than the light oils.

Various methods for treating these heavy oils, so as to change their physical and chemical characteristics and render them of more economic value, have been used in the past and are used today. The principal methods employed are,first: distillation at atmospheric pressure, by which means the light oils are removed. Second: distillation under increased pressure and temperature, which is known in the art as cracking. By the second process a marked increase in the yield of the lighter hydrocarbon oils of the gasoline series is obtained.

Investigators have devised many methods and types of apparatus for distilling and cracking hydrocarbon oil. They have sought to accomplish this by heat, with or without pressure, in some cases using various catalytic agents such as iron, nickel, alumina, manganese oxide, etc. Some of these methods are used today with more or less success.

I will now proceed to describe my invention and in order to do this in a clear and comprehensive manner I shall refer to the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 shows my apparatus in side elevation and partly broken away so as to disclose the interio thereof.

- Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of my imv be separated out and finally se Application flled'August 1, 1921. Serial No. 488,760.

proved reaction and distilling element or tube, and 1 Fig. 3 shows a modified form of reaction and distilling element or tube.

In the drawing the same reference characters denote the same parts in all the views.

In Fig. 1 I have shown my apparatus fully assembled 1 being a vapor chamber usually made in the form of a closed cylinder; thischamber. is divided into two compartments A and-B, separated by a diaphragm'2 having-a central opening 3 therein which is surrounded with a c lindrical portion 41 which in turn is provi ed with an outward- 1y projecting flange 5. Into one of the compartments (A) my vaporizing tube, designated as a wholevby the letter T, extends; the other compartment (B) is subdivided by means of baflle plates 6 and 7- into several chambers forming zigzag passages, baffles 6 extending upwardly from the bottom and terminating a short distance from the top of the chamber and baflle 7 extending downwardly from the top terminating a short distance from the bottom. Any vapors which enter chamber B will thus have their direction of travel abruptly changed whereby any undecomposed particle will tt e to the bottom of the chamber where openings 8 are provided in plates 6 to permit the material thus collected to reach the drain pipe 9 through which they are removed.

. Referring now more particularly to Fig. 2, I will proceed to describe my reaction and distilling element or tube T. This tube comprises an elongated tubular member which I shall indicate as a whole b reference numeral 10:-this tube has di erent parts of its length of different diameters and is preferably cast .in the desired shape. Passing through the entire length of tube 10 is a rod 11 which I may term a valve stem:v this stem is supported by member 12 which has screw threaded connection with tube 10 at 13 and with rod 11 at 14. Member 12 has attached thereto a screw cap 15 which cooperates with it to form a stuffed vapor tight joint.' Carried on stem 11 and freely movable in tube 10 is a helical worm 16 which forms a spiral passage of considerable length the purpose and function of which will appear as the description proceeds. Near its inner end tube 10 is enlarged to form a chamber 17. Within the chamber and secured to bar 11 is a catalytic or conversion promoting agent 18 of iron, nickel, alumina or any other suitable material, here shown in the form of a helical bar but it may be made in any desired form. Beyond chamber 17, tube 10 is again contracted to the size of the main portion thereof as indicated by numeral 19. Within the reduced portion 19 is another spiral passage formed by two helical members 20 and 20'. Secured to the reduced portion of tube 10 is a conical or top shaped chamber 21 having a restricted opening 22 in the outer end thereof. Stem 11 extends through opening 22 and carries at its outer end a dish shaped member 23, the hollow portion of which faces the opening 22 and is adjustable towards and away therefrom, by means of the stem 11. Opening into tube 10 near the outer end thereof are three pipes 24, 25- and' 26. Pipe 24- supplies the oil to be treated, whichl'oil has been heated by suitable means'to the desired temperature, this pipe has its end bent at right angles and lies parallel to the axis of tube 10; this end is also provided with a series of openings 29 thru which the oil enters tube 10. The end 28 of tube 24: preferably has the top thereof plugged so that the oil can leave only thru holes 29. Near the outer end of tube 10 pipe 25 is connected;

. neoted to a steam or vapor (or both) supply and controls the admission of steam to the tube T. The heated oil and vapor as well as the steam is admitted to the tube T under pressure and flows towards the inner end of said tube, the quantity of each being controlled by valves 30 and 31. In flowing inwardly thru tube 10 the intermingled oil, vapor, steam, or both, pass thru the spiral passage of the helical worm where they become intimately associated in a minutely divided form, resulting in an almost instantaneous heat absorption by the liquid under treatment, a decomposition of the oil and the production of the desired vapors. The intermingled heat carrying vapors and the vapors from the oil continue to flow inwardly and enter chamber 17 which contains a catalytic or conversion promoting agent 18; the nature of this agent depends upon the nature of the liquid under treat ment but is usually nickel, copper, iron, alumina or any other material that may be found to be the most suitable for the material under treatment.

From chamber 17 the vapors pass thru the spiral passage between the helical members 20 and 20 into the enlarged conical chamber 21 and finally leave the tube T thru opening 22 and impinge on the curved surface of the reaction cup member 23 which reflects the stream of vapor and directs it outwardly towards the inner sides of vapor chamber 1 as shown in Fig. 1.

The fall of pressure along tube T can be controlled by means of the hand wheel 32 which rotates stem 11 and causes the reaction cup 23 to approach or recede from the opening 22. It is evident that if cup 23 is brought up close to the opening 22 the flow of vapors and oils will be restricted and the fall of pressure along the tube decreased, whereas if cup 23 is moved away from opening 22 the gases and oils have a freer exit from the tube and consequently the fall of pressure will be greater. The pressure within the tube can therefore be varied within the limits of the pressure at which the heated vapor and oils enter and the pressure within the vapor chamber 1.

As the ten'iperature is controlled by controlling the heat of the vapor, oil and steam admitted, we have means for accomplishing the distillation at any desired pressure or temperature. Pipes 24-, 25 and 26 are each provided with a check valve 27 to prevent the vapors from flowing in the opposite direction.

When the vapors and oils leave the tube T thru opening 22 they impinge on the curved surface of reaction cup 23 and aredirected outwardly and rearwardly. In this way any undecomposed particles are given a high velocity toward the walls of the vapor chamber and are thus separated from the vapors which then flow toward diaphragm 2 and enter compartment B through opening 3; The cylindrical member 4 and outwardly extending collar 5 serve to prevent any undecomposed particles that may impinge on the diaphragm 2 fronrpassing intdpompartment B. All the liquids and solids that are separated from the vapors in compartment A settle to the bottom where they are finally removed thru pipe 33. When the vapors and gases enter compartment B they'are deflected by baffle plates 6 and 7 which has the further effect of removing liquid and solid particles which settle to the bottom of the compartment and are finally drawn off through pipe 9, holes 8 being provided in baffle 6 to permit the liquids to reach the entrance of pipe 9. The gases and vapors enter openings 34 in dry pipe 35 and are re moved through pipe 36. The lower side of pipe 35 has an opening 37 for the escape of any li uids that may be carried into the pipe by the vapors or which may condense there.

A heat coil 38 is provided in one end of compartment B for the purpose of utilizing some of the heat present. The coil can be connected. to pipe 24 or utilized in any manner desired.

The helical member 16 can be made of variouslengths to suit the requirements of the particular material operated upon.

Pipe 36 is shown connected to a condenser 42 and to which is connected a vertical pipe 43 forthe purpose of providing an outlet for any uncondensable vapors that may pass through the condenser. The condensed liquid is discharged into any suitable container.

In cases where the'catalytic agent is not desired tube T may be modified by omitting chamber 17 and the helical passage between members 20 and 20" and madea's shown in Fig. 3. The vapor chamber isprovided with a safety valve 39, a thermostat 40 and a pressure gauge41, the former to prevent danger-u ous pressures within the container and the othertwofor-the purpose of enabling the operator to control the distilling and decomposing of the oils within the distilling element or'tube T;.

The operation of my device is as follows: Oil heated to any desired degree and at any desired pressure, is introduced into the va porizing tube through the pipe 24. Simultaneously therewith,heated vapors, such as products of' combustion, saturated or superheated steam or both vapor and steam, are admitted under pressure through pipes and 26, these vapors flowing along the tube towards the inner end thereof, carry with them the oil, this stream of oiland vapor then enters the helicalchamber formed by member 16 wherein the particles, due to their constant change of direction and con-' sequent bombardment of the surfaces, be-

' come intimately intermingled. Due to this intimate association ofthe oil particles with the heated vapors an almost instantaneous" transfer of heat takes place, resulting in the decomposition necessary in order to obtain the product desired. The mixture of oil and vapors then continue inwardly until they reach the chamber 17, where they are subjected to the action of-the catalytic agent 18 where further conversion of the undecomposed particles of the heavier hydrocarbons take place. The stream of combined oil and vapor then pass through the helical passages between members 20 and 20 where the direction of flow is .changed and the velocity slightly retarded, as they enter the chamber 21. The combined oils and vapor then pass .out of the tube opening 22 an .the surface'of the reaction cap 23 whereby impinge on the direction. of flow is changed as the vapors enter the vapor chamber, in this manner all undecomposed oils and solid or liquid particles are separated from the va or and accumulatein the bottom of cham or A. The vapors then-pass through the opening in diaphragm 2 and enter chamber Bwhere the direction of flow is changed by means of bafiie plates 6- and 7, this-results in a further separation of undecomposed particles which settle to the bottom of chamber B and are removed through pipe 9. The vapors are removed through pipe 36 and passed thru a condenser 39 from which they are .removed in liquid form, or the vapors may be used to heat oil in another reacting and distilling tube in the manner set forth above, or the hot vapors may be used to boil and decompose oil in a vapor still commonly known as a steam still.

This method of distilling liquids has the advantage of preventing or limiting the formation of oil mists in the gases of distillation, also the formation of non-condensable oil mists, by causing the reactions and lessthan that under which the distillation ing and distilling element T, and that they chambers A and B are primarily intended to function as separators whereby the liberated vapors and gases are separated from the undecomposed particles and liquids. It

int out that while the conmay bepossible that some minor reactions do take place in chambers A and B, but I am not depending upon these for the succes of my process. 7

When air is introduced into the reaction and distillation element T in suflicient quantity, and employed in the absence of steam, and the temperature maintained For the production of. oilsof the gasolow specific gravity gasoline series, from oils that have had the primary benzines and gasolines removed, such pressures and,

temperatures will have to be used that the reaction known as cracking will take place, and this requires a temperature of between 750 and 1000 degrees F. and a pressure which does not exceed 300 pounds per square inch. The pressure and the temperature required varies with the chemical reacting characteristics of the oil under treatment and must be adjusted to meet the requirements of the specific oil that is treated, and it is therefore possible to give only the limits of temperature and the approximate pressure to be employed. The temperatures and the pressures given; in the above examples are as near as applicant can determine them, and are believed to be correctly defined, but it is possible that cases may be found where the optimum temperatures and pressures would vary by 20 per cent from those given, as the widely varying responsiveness of hydrocarbon oils to pressure and temperature treatment I is well known to the oil refining industry.

Having now described my process and apparatus what I claim as my invention or discovery is:

1. A device for d composing hydrocarbon oils comprising a tubular chamber closed at one end and provided with an opening at the other end, means for admittin oil into said chamber near the closed en thereof, means for admitting heated vapors into said chamber between the closed end thereof and the oil admitting means, a tortuous mixing passage between said oil admittingmeans and the open end of the chamber, an enlarged chamber between said mixing passage and the end of the tubular chamber, said enlarged chamber containing a catalytic agent, and means for controlling the fall of pressure along said tubular chamber.

2. A device for decomposing hydrocarbon oils comprising a tubular chamber closed at one end and provided with an opening at the other end, means for admittin oil into said chamber near the closed en thereof, means for admitting heated vapors into said chamber between the closed end thereof and the oil admitting means, a

tortuous mixing passage between said oil admitting means and the open end of the chamber, an' enlarged chamber between said mixing passage and the end of the tubular chamber, said enlarged chamber containing a catalytic agent, a constricted helical passage between said enlarged chamber and the open end of said tubular chamber, and means for controlling the fall of pressure along said tubular chamber.

3. A device for decomposing hydrocarbon oils comprising a tubular chamber closed at one end and provided with an opening at the other end, means for admitting oil into said chamber near the closed end thereof, means for admitting heated vapors into said chamber between the closed end thereof and the oil admitting means, a tortuous mixing passage between said oil admitting means and. the open end of the chamber, an enlarged chamber between said mixing passage and the end of the tubular chamber, said enlarged chamber containing a catalytic agent, a constricted helical passage between said enlarged chamber and the open end of said tubular chamber, an enlarged chamber forming the end of said tubular chamber, and means for controlling the fall of pressure along said tubular chamber.

l. A device for decomposing hydrocarbon oils comprising a tubular chamber closed at one end and provided with an opening at the other end, means for admitting oil into said chamber near the closed end thereof, means for admitting heated vapors into said chamber between the closed end thereof and the oil admitting means, a tortuous mixing passage between said oil admitting means and the open end of the tubular chamber, an enlarged chamber between said mixing passage and the end of the tubular chamber, said enlarged chamber containing a catalytic agent, a constricted helical passage between said enlarged chamber and the open end of said tubular chamber, a second enlarged chamber forming the end of said last named tube, said chamber having an opening in the end thereof and means for varying the size of said opening whereby the rate of exit of the gases can be controlled.

5. A device for decomposing hydrocarbon oils, comprising a tubular chamber closed at one end and provided with an opening at the other end, means for admitting oil into said chamber, means for admitting heated vapors into said chamber, a tortuous mixing chamber between said oil-admitting means and the open end of the chamber, an enlarged chamber between said mixing passage and the end of the tubular chamber, said enlarged chamber containing acatalytic agent, and means for controlling fall of pressure a] mg said tubular chamber.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

WILLIAM J. REILLY. 

